Robert Iger heir, announced a reorganization to
emphasize streaming and “accelerate our direct-
to-consumer business.”
Universal Pictures, owned by Comcast, has
pushed aggressively into video-on-demand. Its
first major foray, “Trolls,” kicked up a feud with
theater owners. But as the pandemic wore on,
Universal hatched unprecedented deals with
AMC and Cinemark, the largest and third-largest
chains, respectively, to dramatically shorten the
traditional theatrical window (usually about
three months) to just 17 days. After that time,
Universal can move releases that don’t reach
certain box-office thresholds to digital rental.
While the nation’s second largest theater chain,
Regal Cinemas, has resisted such deals, there’s
widespread acknowledgement that the days of
90-day theatrical runs are over. It’s something
the studios have long sought for the potential
benefit of covering both platforms with one
marketing campaign. Many see the pandemic as
accelerating a decades-long trend.
“Windows are clearly changing,” says Chris
Aronson, distribution chief for Paramount
Pictures. “All this stuff that’s going on now in the
business was going to happen, the evolution is
just happening faster than it would have. What
would have taken three to five years is going to
be done in a year, maybe a year and a half.”
That condensed period of rapid change is
happening at the same time as a land rush
for streaming market share, as Disney+, HBO
Max, Apple and Peacock wrestle for a piece
of the home viewing audience dominated
by Netflix and Amazon. With theme parks
struggling and worldwide box office down tens